Mayor Pugh: We Will Better Vet Police Commanders

BALTIMORE, MD — Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh vowed to ensure police commanders are more thoroughly vetted, according to reports, in the wake of the resignation of former Commissioner Darryl De Sousa. De Sousa resigned Tuesday, May 15, after the federal government charged him failing to pay taxes.

In the vetting process, officials are "going to be documenting it better, asking focus questions, invasive questions, questions that were, perhaps, not asked before,” City solicitor Andre Davis said, according to WMAR.

De Sousa was charged Thursday, May 10, after he "willfully failed to file a federal tax return" in 2013, 2014 and 2015, investigators say.

"I fully admit to failing to file my personal federal and state taxes for 2013, 2014 and 2015," De Sousa said in a statement. "While there is no excuse for my failure to fulfill my obligations as a citizen and public official, my only explanation is that I failed to sufficiently prioritize my personal affairs."

WBAL reported Pugh as saying "I absolutely had faith in his ability to run the Police Department... I watched [De Sousa’s] work. I’m pleased where we are, in terms of reducing violence, but at the same time I don’t control people’s personal lives,” she said. At the time he was selected, De Sousa had a clean record, and Pugh was desperate to quell the rising murder rate in the city.

See more:

• Baltimore Police Commissioner Faces Federal Charges
• Baltimore Police Commissioner Resigns

WMAR reported that De Sousa will be in court Monday.

Article image: Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa courtesy of Baltimore Police Department